


Supergirl and the Legion of Superheroes in: Anti-Life

by legionworldproject



Series: Legion of Two Worlds [2]
Category: Legion of Super Heroes - All Media Types, Supergirl (Comics)
Genre: Explicit Language, F/F, F/M, Gen, Hell on Earth, Major character death is at the end, Mind Control, Mind Control Aftermath & Recovery, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, To update as more tags come to mind, cursing, lots of fighting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-24
Updated: 2017-08-03
Packaged: 2018-12-06 10:45:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11599023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/legionworldproject/pseuds/legionworldproject
Summary: After the events of LL, the Legion attempts to defeat Darksied and save the future. But help has arrived in the form of Supergirl and she has brought help with her. Will heroes from the past be enough? Or will Darksied win?





	1. A Running Start

**Author's Note:**

> Hello and welcome to 'Anti-Life', the final (maybe) part of the 'Legion of Two Worlds' story line. Before I get to the 'things you need to know' part of this intro some people need to be thanked.
> 
> 'Legion of Two Worlds' is a passion project that is quickly expanding into its own little world. With the future rewrite of 'Future Perfect' coming and the possibility of a next generation fan fiction existing soon, I am probably not going to leave this universe anytime soon. 
> 
> I would like to thank XS for inspiration and the drive to dig back into this project. I thought I left this story behind, never to be told but as a certain trickster might say 'A story left untold is a story wasted'. 
> 
> I would also like to thank those who reviewed the old fic on Fanfiction.net (you can still find them if you look up pan202), and dropped kudo's on FP and LL.
> 
> Anti-Life wouldn't be possible without the inspiration of Doctor Who, JLU, Loki: Agent of Asgard, Bloodborn, GLTAS, LOSH the cartoon, The New Gods, Jack Kirby (Long live the King) and many more.
> 
> Now for the things you need to know before reading this fic.
> 
> Anti-Life has the potential to get dark. I am not going to do a lot of gore or stuff like that but the subject of brainwashing, control, enslavement, domination, self destruction, and the like will come up. Also there is a major character death near the end of the story but there should be plenty of warning before hand. 
> 
> Supergirl and the Legion of Super-heroes can face this darkness. Remember, your reading of this fic has power. Use that gift wisely.
> 
> Enjoy! Let the wild ride... begin!

**Prologue**

**Earth, the 31st Century**

**A month ago**

**Cosmic Boy**

It had taken all of my will to get myself to stay taking a good look into the face of evil can rattle deeply any man's soul. The battle would be a hard one but I knew I couldn't allow that monster to destroy the UP and all human life on Earth. I looked at each of their faces, there were mixtures of fear, anger and perhaps pain on all of them. I couldn't begin to know exactly what they were thinking but I had a pretty good guess. This could be the last fight we ever had. Well if it was, I planned to go out with a battle the likes of which would never be forgotten.

 **"The Legion of Superheroes,"** Darkseid said, looking down at all of us. He seemed to smile at us all in almost pity, but there was no smile on his face. **"You are just as I remember you from all of the past timelines I have seen you all on. Foolish, reckless and pathetic. Even without Superman to help you, you are ready to die for Earth and the United Planets."**

"Of course," I said, and the rest of the Legion spread out to give themselves more room to move. "The Legion is always ready to fight the likes of you."

Darkseid lifted one hand and several boom tubes opened around him. From the thundering holes in space came thousands of warriors bred to do his will. They were dark skinned with even darker armor covering their whole bodies. They were armed with a variety of dangerous bladed and ranged plasma weapons. They came towards us like a flood and we charged towards them similarly.

It quickly went to hell after that. His warriors, the new para-demons, were a lot tougher than Imperix's soldiers and a lot more plentiful. When I managed to get one down, ten more seemed to rise to take the fallen one's place. We were quickly losing ground, dunking into the ruin buildings all around us, I called Saturn Girl and Lighting Lad to me.

"This is not going our way at all, Cos," Lighting Lad said, nursing a bad cut on his shoulder. Saturn Girl helped to apply pressure to his wound and nodded to me.

"Everyone is taking a beating and although they won't say it out loud they are all thinking the same thing. We have to retreat."

I had to agree with them. They had the right idea. But how could we get away from Darkseid and abandon Earth? We couldn't do that. Just as I was about to say something, part of the ceiling gave way and Shikari came diving in. She had Dream Girl in her arms, hurt but still very much alive. She grabbed my arm when they were close enough, and said in a harsh voice;

"We have to go underground for now. Darkseid is not yet at full power and help is coming. For now though we must give up Metropolis. We must get to one of the safe houses. The Espionage Squad will cover our backs."

I didn't want to do it, but I knew that we had to. Sending the retreat signal and the coordinates to the safe house in Gotham, I left. I managed to see Darkseid attacking the Espionage Squad with full force, saw Chameleon go down.

We had to live to fight another day. Leaving them behind, though, tore at my heart and I would have given almost anything to have the power to stop that creature. Forcing myself to look away, I flew as fast as I could away from Metropolis. It was doomed for now...

  
**Supergirl**  
**Earth**  
**21st Century**

Code Five looked like he was about to burst into flames. His hands were outstretched towards the sky, and I could feel the heat of them even standing a few feet away. His eyes were narrowed but his pupils were pin pricks. The heat of the temporal waves kept everyone, even Andromeda, a distances away.

"Does Code really need to do this," I asked out loud.

"Who ever the traitor was, or perhaps it was Darkseid himself, placed a time lock over the 31st Century." Jazmin, Kid Quantum of the Wanderers, was watching the readings on the devices Code had designed. Her brown eyes were filled with worry but she kept her eyes on the readings. "Code is the only one of us with the power to break it."

"Or at the least, puncture a hole large enough for us to fly the Interceptor through," Saturn Girl sounded unsure. Her blue eyes watched the air in front of Code, her mouth a thin line. "Though I do agree with Supergirl. I haven't faced Time Trapper, but isn't even using this power dangerous on him?"

I watched Code, his eyes now closed. I saw the faintest image of the marron robes of the Time Trapper appear around him before they faded. Code was very pale.

"This has to work," Code responded, though his voice was strained and came through mostly clinched teeth. "The Time Trapper can break time. I can do this."

Kid Quantum turned to Live Wire, who was waiting on the edge of the gangplank to the Interceptor. "Get ready to fly! It's beginning to crack!"

The heat stopped and Code fell to the ground, only to be caught by Andromeda. He looked weak but there was a smile on his face. A triumphant look that wouldn't look out of place on my Brainy's face. "The hole is open. We have to leave, now."

As Andromeda helped him up I flew for the ship. Cosmic Boy was already at the controls, his fingers working rapidly across the controls. Live Wire was in the other pilots seat, checking out the gadges and scans. I landed behind Cosmic Boy, checking the readings myself.

"Engines are primed and ready. Sensors are locked on the hole in space time." Cosmic Boy turned to me. "As soon as everyone is on board we are ready leave."

"We ready," Superboy, Kon-El, said as he helped Andromeda get Code Five into the ship. Our crew was small, most of the Wanderers had remained behind to help the Legion against Darkseid, but we were prepared. Saturn Girl sealed the ship behind her and Cosmic Boy started our flight towards the hole.

I sat down, bucking up even though I probably didn't have to. Who would want an invunable Kryptonian bouncing around the cabin? Not me. I looked at Code Five as he was still catching his breath. He gave me a weak smile.

"Almost back."

"Punch it," Kid Quantum yelled and with a jerk we went flying into the familar rainbow field that was the time stream.

Just as my first few times through the time stream, this ride was rough. The ship shook and rocked as temporal distortions rocked the ship from all sides. Cosmic Boy and Live Wire were doing a good job piloting and Kid gave the ship a boost with her quantum field, but it wasn't smooth. Code unbucketled himself and went up to help Cosmic Boy and the Interceptor came through the other side of the gate.

"Earth."

Explosions rocked the ship, warning sirens going off. I already knew what was happening. Seeing the radar and scans only confirmed my thoughts.

"Para-demons and canon fire from the surface are damaging the ship," Code said, his voice surprisingly calm.

The ship shook and banked right, sparks flying off the equipment. Live Wire looked at his reading and cursed. "Left engine was hit. It's going at only 30%."

"Shields are at 40% and dropping," Cosmic Boy yelled through the sounds of fire hitting the shields. Cracking noise filled the area. "We are going to have to land or we will get blasted from the sky!"

"I'll fly out and clear a path," I said, and Code nodded. "Superboy, Andromeda? Care to assist?"

Andromeda grinned and Kon nodded. Live Wire opened the pod doors and the three of us flew out onto a war zone.

It had been one year since the war had started. We had planned to get as close to the start of the conflict as we could but Code's devices showed the weakest point in the time lock was one year from when I had last been in the future. It wasn't ideal but Code hoped that as soon as we got here we could go further back. It seemed that was impossible unless we could get the ship landed in one piece. Easier said than done.

The area we had flown into should have been New Metropolis. The futuristic city with its silver and gold towers was no where to be seen. Instead there was barren ground where hundred of parademons shot up at us. This area looked like a dirt road on the way to the military camp, lined with burning fires and bodies here and there. Dead bodies. I felt sick to my stomach.

 _We need to get out of here and land somewhere less hostile,_ Code Five said through Saturn Girl's telepathic link. _Supergirl. I suggest using heat vision and taking out the tanks._

Good idea.

Supergirl signaled to Andromeda and Superboy and towards the tanks and they both nodded. We split up, diving towards the tanks at rapid speeds. Heat vision wouldn't be enough but there was also brute force. I charged at one of the tanks even as it blew fire at me through its dog like head. Apokolips had a strange ideas about tank design.

I slammed the tank back as soon at I touched it, throwing it back to it fell against one of the canons. Then I used heat vision to damage the treads so they wouldn't be able to move if they got back upright. I heard Andromeda scream and saw a tank soar over my head. I was impressed.

_Okay, the ship is coming down. We lost the left engine._

_You seem perfectly okay with that, Code._ Andromeda sounded a bit frustrated. I could almost hear the audible shrug of Code's shoulders when he replied.

_Not okay with it, just expected it. Prepare for landing._

The Interceptor flew by, leaving a thick cloud of black smoke in its wake. Superboy flew up and with Andromeda's help they managed to get the ship on the ground safely without it blowing apart. Code was the first one out of the ship, using the Omnicom to scan the area. He looked troubled.

"We should have landed near New Metropolis but according to this read out we are about two hundred miles away." A laser bolt whizzed past his head and he looked surprised. "Oh yes. Middle of a war zone let's move."

"And forget about the ship," Cosmic Boy asked as we left, running before taking to the air. Code nodded.

"I put it on self destruct before we left. It should go off when we are far enough away."

"Code are you nuts? We could have used the time travel modifications to head further back!" Andromeda shook her head.

"It was damaged in the fighting. We would have ended up split apart or worst." A loud explosion was heard behind us and I turned just to see the remains of the Interceptor scatter from the blast. "For better or worse, we're stuck here."

"Then let's find the Legion."

 


	2. Reunions and Trouble

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoo this was one hell of a chapter to write. Hope it came out clear enough! I don't have a beta reader so everything is done just by me.

**Code Five**  
**Ruins of Earth**  
**31st Century**

I don’t think Laurel understood my quick change in attitude. It wasn’t that I accepted what had happened; the attack, the force loss of the Interceptor… I had anticipated it, taking it into account before we had returned to the 31st Century. I had toyed with the idea of going further back but I knew the moment we had arrived that would be impossible. I might be able to, one my own, if I tapped into the Time Trapper power.

_tick tock._

No. I can’t use it again. There was too much of a risk and I was lucky something hadn’t happened when I had used it to break the time barrier. It wouldn’t be worth it either if I couldn’t bring everyone else back with me. I would just go mad and what use would I be to anyone?

Never again. I wouldn’t give in.

The land we were flying over had once been the outskirts of New Metropolis but the year of fighting had transformed it. Where once had been small building complexes and green trees and grass was now torn up dirt and deep pits. Burning fires dotted the landscape and as we flew over a few the smell of something rotting rose up. This was disgusting. Why hadn’t I seen the signs? Or felt it as the Time Trapper?

“Where do you think the Legion is,” Kara asked, flying closer to me. She had the one most excited to travel back to the future, but I understood why. Even if Darkseid hadn’t been here attacking Earth she would have rushed back. Kara pulled on her flight ring. “Do you think we can find them?”

“We can and will,” I replied, looking at her. She looked worried. I knew her worry for the Legion was eating her up inside but she was doing a good job of staying focused. “It may take some time without our pathfinder but we will run into them sooner or later.”

Kara looked at me in puzzlement. “Pathfinder? You mean a tracker like Dawnstar?”

“Something very similar,” I looked down towards the ground and began to descend. “Hopefully when we meet up with the Legion I can introduce you to Shikari.”

“I wonder what nickname she will have for you,” Laurel said with a laugh, zooming ahead of me. “Right, Green Legion?”

“Ha!”

I wanted to ague that I hated that nickname, almost as much as I hated the ‘Brainy’ nickname before the upgrade but I couldn’t. I hadn’t seen Shikari since the void took us. That had been four or five years ago depending on if my grasp of time was getting better. As the Time Trapper and before I had the ability to keep track of time. Now it seemed I couldn’t remember what happened passed yesterday. I hoped Shikari was alright.

We landed and decided to walk the rest of the way to avoid detection. It was also going but better than being flying targets. Supergirl took the lead, followed by Superboy, Cosmic Boy, Kid Quantum, me, Saturn Girl, Live Wire and finally Andromeda. The only problem with being on the ground was now I could tell what the smell from before was. I felt sick to my stomach.

“Have any idea on how we can find the Legion,” Superboy asked, stopping until he began to walk beside me. “They aren’t your Legion so I doubt there is a planet sized base I can just fly up to.”

“Unfortunately no, they don’t. I miss the labs… Do you remember them Kon? All the scanners and equipment, state of the art and in working order?”

“Brainy come on, your fading on me!” Kon waved his hand in front of my face but I just shook my head. He grinned. “Thought I lost you!”

“We head to New Metropolis and scout out the area,” I said, refocusing. I pulled my omnicom from my pocket and pulled up the data I needed, showing it to him. “I doubt they are still there, Darkseid would probably make a large base there and they would be in danger contently but, they would have left clues. A path. Some way to follow them.”

“Code, you should come and look at this.”

Kara had climbed partially up a hill and was laying on the ground, looking to the other side. I cam up beside her and when I looked over the ridge I froze.

New Metropolis didn’t exist anymore.

As far as I could see broken buildings rose into the air, but the buildings still standing intact were few and far between. Most were ruin on the ground or simply not there. The Daily Planet building for one was gone. It would have to be rebuilt again if we could stop this. But it wasn’t all ruins there were some buildings left mostly intact and some newer buildings built in the designs of Apokolips. Perhaps that was where some of the missing buildings had gone. More plentiful than the ruins though were the para-demons, who fluttered around everywhere.

“Metropolis.”

Kara had her hand over her mouth, staring straight into the ruins. I put a hand on her shoulder and she looked at me. It was reliving to me that Kara looked nothing like Laurel.

“We will find them.” I turned towards the others. “Anyone have any ideas on how we can slip in?”

“Too bad we don’t have Umbra with us,” Saturn Girl stated, looking at one of the roads going into New Metropolis. “We could check around the perimeter of the city and find a way in.”

“I agree with Saturn Girl,” Cosmic Boy said, looking from his own omnicom to Saturn Girl. “That place is crawling with para-demons and who knows what else. We can’t risk a frontal assault at any rate.”

“Aw, and I was hoping to bash some heads,” Laurel said, sighing with dramatics. It took a great deal with effort to control my eye rolling.

_tick tock._

“Maybe there is a way we can get under the city,” Superboy suggested. “Check it out under their feet.”

“Kara, what do you think?” I turned to her again and she tore her eyes away from the ruins. “You and Laurel know the city better than any of us. Where should we go?”

Kara took a moment to answer. While I waited I looked back out at the city. Through the ruined buildings I could movement. There were people still in the city? Slave labor perhaps or maybe they just couldn’t escape. We had to get in and see what was going on.

“There is an underground route to get inside of the HQ but I don’t know if its blocked now or not. If Darkseid’s forces left it intact we could use it to get inside of HQ and then we would be deep inside of New Metropolis.”

“Seems like you both get your wish,” I said, smiling at Kon. “Underground it is. Let’s get moving before this place is found.”

 

 

 **Saturn Girl**  
**Outskirts of Smallville**

Metropolis was damaged, but at least most of the people were alive. When we had been forced to leave, Darkseid had used his power to force his will onto the population and made the city the center of his rule on Earth. His real goal was of course to destroy all life on Earth, making the population scream and die in hopelessness under his heel. But first he wanted the Legion dead and so he searched for us.

We made it hard for him to find us. Chameleon and Shrinking Violet insisted we stay away from safe houses Brainiac 5 was aware of from his own time on the Espionage Squad. When Dream Girl explained why it explained so much about his behavior and what he did and said.

So we kept moving from safe house to safe house, keeping ourselves hidden by using the abilities of some new members and old members. Some members of the Wanderers who hadn't gone to the past with the others came to help. Their Invisible Kid, Lyle Norg came and helped us develop some cloaking technology that hid us pretty well. Shikari with help of Gates, a non-humanoid insect being with the ability to teleport also helped to warn us when Darkseid's forces were catching up with us and we were always one step ahead. I wasn't sure how long we could keep it up on our own so I continued to hope that Supergirl got back soon.

One of our newer members, a former sub called Night Girl kept me company as I watched the skies on watch. She had always wanted to be a part of the Legion but when she first tried out she didn't have enough experience along with her power only working at night. And she hadn't yet met her team mate from Talok VIII just yet; their powers were a match. Watching the skies with me, her mind was filled with hope. It lightened my own mood.

"I wish you wouldn't worry so much, Imra," she said, glancing at me. I smiled slightly at her, shaking my head.

"I just want this darkness to pass. I want to know that everything will work out alright. I have faith that it will but I would like it to happen sooner rather than later. Even Dream Girl is having trouble seeing what the future holds."

She placed a slender, yet strong hand on my shoulder. For a moment she reminded me of Starlancer and she smiled at me. "Everything will work out fine. The Legion will over come Darksied."

I returned the smile, and nodded my own head. I knew she was right, I could feel it but I couldn't help but be worried at the same time. Darksied was a force the Legion hadn't fought in this timeline, but we would over come him. We had to.

“Imra?”

Garth poked his head from inside of the entrence. He had a smile on his face. I turned towards him, rising an eye brow. “You seem excited what is it?”

“Rokk says Shikari has felt the paths connecting. Supergirl is back.”

“Get Gates to New Metropolis with a full squad and get Dream Girl and Dreamer to tell him where to look. They’ll know where to go.”

Garth nodded and headed back inside. My hope rekindling, I looked towards the ruins. Finally. Supergirl had returned to the future.  Darkseid didn't stand a chance.

 

 

 **Andromeda**  
**Ruins of New Metropolis**

We didn’t speak as we moved around the ruins of New Metropolis, each of us trying to keep an eye out for any para-demons or any of Darkseid’s more human forces as we moved through. The tunnel to HQ was a bit of a walk so we had to pause every so often to avoid being seen. It was tense, and I hated every minute of it. All I wanted to do was go all out and bash some heads in. Damn Darkseid and this grief he was putting us all through. Kara looked like she wanted to throw up, and Querl looked worried. At least the former apartment complex we were sneaking through still had part of its roof.

“We’re close,” Kara said in a low tone, peering around the corner. I remembered the route though I had never gone through it before. The other Legion’s founders had made me aware of all the important things I needed to know about the base when I joined. Standard procedure for every Legion I guessed. I wondered how long the book had been for the Academy cadets had been.

“Do you think they left any clues?”

“They should have left something,” Kara moved from one wall to another and peered out into the road. She was taking the lead but I was right behind her. “If not an exact clue there should be some way of following their trail. Maybe a map or something?”

“I am beginning to hope that they find us,” Kid said, and Superboy nodded in agreement. Still we kept moving forward. We had an idea of where to go, it was better than nothing.

We took to the alley ways, the little side streets, and through some ruined buildings until we found the side street we were looking for. It was filled with para-demons though, six in total, who buzzed back and forth down and up the street. I looked from Kara to Code who shrugged. I tilted my head at him and shrugged back. He had been acting strange since we got back to the 31st Century. I couldn’t ask him why here, but I made a mental note.

“Take them out, but quickly,” Code said, tapping his omnicon with his finger. “We can’t have them getting up into the air to warn the others.”

We each looked at each other and nodded. I grinned at Kid. “Mind slowing things down a bit?”

“Don’t mind if I do.”

Kid Quantum focused her power and used it to put a quantum field around all six para-demons. It wouldn’t last for long but it would last long enough for us to get to get to work. Superboy flew into the alley, punching down one of the para-demons and I followed quickly, kicking another into a wall. Supergirl followed after me, using heat vision to knock a gun out of one of the para-demons hands. Cosmic Boy had the gun in the air the next second, twisting it around until it looked like a ball and he threw it at the same para-demon. Live Wire and Saturn Girl took out the remaining para-demons and we were under ground in the next moment.

“I hope all that fighting didn’t attach more para-demons,” Code said as soon as Cosmic Boy had closed the tunnel behind us. He looked up at the closed exit and back down again. “Let’s get moving.”

Querl didn’t have to say what he was thinking, we were all thinking it. This felt wrong. The tunnel wasn’t very wide or high, but it was dry and we didn’t have to worry about para-demons crawling all over us. We took off at a brisk rate, not wanting to stay too close to the entrance. A sharp sound behind us caused me to freeze though. As did Superboy and Supergirl.

“This was a trap.”

The tunnel ahead of us opened up and para-demons began firing through the hole. Code cursed, putting us his barrier to stop the blast but turning towards the entrance only for it to be busting open too. I turned my heat vision towards the tunnel, trying to seal the tunnels exit but they were busting through. The barrier wouldn’t last much longer and there were more pouring into the tunnel. Who ever had planted this trap knew that someone would use it. Legionaries. I bit my lip in worry.

I line of green blazed in front of my face forming into a disk of green light. I stared at it in stunned silence before a black claw grabbed my arm and pulled me in. I heard Code call out for me before I landed on the ground. I jumped up, expecting another fight when I saw who was around me. I was overjoyed to see him.

“ _Hold of on the victory hugs until I get everyone back here_ ,” Gates said, making a crackling noise which was clearly laughter.

“Gates?”

“ _Yes. Now lend me a hand so I can pull the rest out_!”

I poked my head through the gate and Code was holding off the para-demons but just barely. The others were using their powers to try and hold the others ones coming through the entrance off but they were fighting a losing battle. I grabbed a hold of Kid’s arm and she looked at me in surprise but then grinned.

“Gates?”

“Gates.”

I hulled her out, helping her through before I went back in. Code had seen me, and relief was on his face. I turned towards the others after giving him a smile.

“The way out is this way!”

Through the gate we managed to get everything out of the hallway before the para-demons buried us. Code was the last to come through, using his forcefield to hold of the laser fire and I had to pull him through by his back collar. The landed on his back besides me, looking confused for a moment before he smiled and started to laugh.

“Gates I should have known it was you the moment the energy appeared. You are a sproking relief to see.”

“ _Good to know I am still appreciated_ ,” Gates said, his beak breaking out into a toothy grin. He helped Code up with a helpful claw. Once on his feet Code looked to the others.

“Everyone okay?”

“Okay and accounted for,” Cosmic Boy said, still sitting on the ground. Saturn Girl was standing up, checking herself out.

“Besides a few burns I am fine. Where are we?”

A voice rang out behind us and we all turned. “You at the center of the resistance against Darkseid. Welcome to Legion HQ.”

 

 

**Code Five**   
**Legion HQ**

When the rift of green energy appeared and took Laurel away I admit I may have over reacted. It took my mind a second longer than it should have to recognize the energy as a gate and only one Legionnaire that I knew could make something like that. Gates had found us. If he found us that meant the rest of the Legion had been keeping a look out for us to come to New Metropolis. My theory had been correct. Of course it had been. It felt so good to be correct again.

“Welcome to Legion HQ.”

The other Legions Cosmic Boy was walking towards us, followed by their Saturn Girl and Lightning Las. They had looked a great deal like our founders at the beginning but now the differences between the two groups was pronounced. Each of this universes Legion founders looked haggard and warn down. They had dark circles under their eyes and looked thin. They didn’t seem in bad spirits however, their eyes bright and they didn’t appear wounded so that brought me hope.

We had to end this war as quickly as we could before permanent damage occurred.

“Rokk! Garth! Imra!”

Kara flew over in a flash, wrapping her arms around each of them. She was crying. They hugged her in return, Imra’s eyes tearing up as well. I could hear more footsteps, more voices and the room quickly became full of people from both groups. There were a few non-legionaries mixed in as well surprisingly. I took a few steps away from the crowd, smiling.

The room was crowded but everyone was too busy rubbing elbows and greeting each other to move to the next room. I felt better myself knowing everyone had survived in the time that we had been gone. The Legionaries and Wanderers we had left behind had seen better days and in fact reminded me of the ‘Legion Lost’ days but it was expected. I scanned the crowd looking for any familiar faces I hadn’t seen before I went back to the past. Was Lyle here?

“Green Legion?”

I heard a familiar voice towards the back of the crowd. Turning to look I thought I saw a mop of teal hair bobbing in the back of the crowd. I tried to get a better look. It couldn’t be. “Kari?”

Shikari shot to the top of the crowd in a second, her slender wings buzzing in excitement. She looked different, older but we hadn’t seen each other in years. The smile on her face threaten to split her face in half. “Green Legion!”

Shikari was across the room in a second, tackle hugging me so hard that I fell back against the wall. It hurt but I didn’t care. I hadn’t seen her in years, since the void took us. I returned her hug tightly. “Shikari grief! Its so good to see you!”

Shikari buried her head in my shoulder for a moment before she lifted her head. She looked older but that smile she wore was still the same. Her yellow compact eyes glittered brightly in the light of the room. “And I am sproking happy to see you too, Green Legion! The paths have finally brought us all back together!”

“Shikari,” I said, trying to take a stern tone but seeing her again left me in too good of a mood. I hugged her again and she buzzed her wings again. _Churn churn churn._ Almost distracted me from the ticking inside of my mind. She touched my face.

“You look different than when we last saw each other. Much different. The path told me you were taking the long path back to the Legion but…” Shikari buzzed her wings, letting me go and fluttering around me. “Your path is-”

“Shh,” I took her hand and pulled her close so no one else could hear. “No one must know, not even me. Where ever my path goes-”

“But Green Legion its-”

“It will be fine,” I told her with a smile. “Let’s enjoy the time we have left.”

_tick tock._

I knew what the sound meant. Shikari had confirmed my thoughts when she tried to warn me. With what ever time I had left as me, I intended to do some good. I took Shikari’s hand again and smiled at her.

“We need to go see Kid, she had been asking about you since before we went to the past.”

Shikari didn’t look satisfied with my answer and I knew we would have another discussion later but she let the subject go for now. I led her through the crowd, heading towards the small group of Wanderers that were building in one corner of the room. I let go of Shikari’s hand when I saw Lyle. He saw me in the next moment and grinned.

“Brainiac!”

“Invisible Kid!”

I hugged him, and he returned it. I had missed him more than I would ever dare to admit out loud. Of course Laurel knew about Lyle and mines brief relationship. He was still my best friend at any rate and it was great to see him. When we pulled apart he punched me in the gut. I recoiled a few steps back and stared at him in shock.

“That is for turning into the Time Trapper.” Then Lyle grinned and patted my face. “Its good to see everything worked out though in the end.”

“That was great,” Andromeda said, fist bumping with Lyle as she walked by. I gave them both a look and turned away. These people were going to be the end of me.

“Where is Brainiac 5,” I asked, and Lyle’s expression turned dark. As did Shikari, and her wings dropped. My eyes scanned the crowd for Kara as a I felt a chill run down my back. Lyle lowered his head and pulled on his headband.

tick tock.

“Come with me.”

Lyle lead me towards this Legion’s founders and through the tight crowd of people. Andromeda, curious, followed behind us as did the rest of us that came from the past. Something was wrong, why wouldn’t Lyle just tell me other wise. Thoughts about the traitor in the Legion popped into my head. Perhaps the traitor had killed him? No, that couldn’t be right. Lyle would have told me other wise. Maybe he was taken captive. _tick tock_. That could be it. We had to recover him, yes. That was it. We could do that easily. Why did I feel on edge?

“Lyle,” Imra said, turning to look at us and she stared at him for a moment before sighing. “Kara come with us. We have to talk about this subject in private.”

“Why?” Kara was on edge, I could tell from the way her mouth was drawn into a thin line and she was tugging at her sleeves. “This has to do with Querl doesn’t it?”

“Yes it does.”

The Legion founders lead us out of the room and down a hallway. The new Legion HQ wasn’t in as good of shape as the old HQ. In fact it appeared they had re-purposed and old underground hover train station to use as a base. Plenty of room but it had seen better days. Rokk opened a door to what appeared to be their briefing room and had the rest of us sit down before they began to speak. I choose to lean against a metal pillar instead, not able to relax yet. I noticed Kara didn’t sit down either.

“So? Where is he?”

I looked from each of the Legion founders faces in turn, seeing the same dark expression mirrored on all of their faces. My Rokk looked towards our Imra and she suddenly went pale. A hand reached for her mouth.

“Brainiac 5 has joined Darkseid.”

“What?” Kara rushed forward, standing directly in front of Saturn Girl. “He can’t have just joined Darkseid! He wouldn’t! He can’t have!”

_tick tock. tick tock._

“We don’t believe he did so willingly but through some short of spell. Imra do you have the paper?”

Imra reached into her pocket and pulled out a black sleeve of paper and handed it to Kara. She looked it over, confusion over powering her anger for a moment. “What the nass is this? Gibberish?”

“Brainiac 5 was convinced it was some short of code, an equation he had to solve. I think it was a catalysts for what ever took his mind.” Imra looked down. “I haven’t seen him since we were forced to leave Legion HQ.”

“Have you even been looking for him?”

“Of course we have!” Garth looked frustrated, fist sparking slightly in anger. “We’ve been monitoring communications and looking for him but we don’t know where he is.”

“That isn’t good enough.” All their faces turned towards me as I spoke. I stopped leaning against the pillar, one hand still resting on it.

“Code.”

“You have to go for him. Get him out of where ever he is. If Darkseid has him, there is no telling what he has done to him.”

“Code!”

“Darkseid would have had Granny Goodness torture him and use all the information that he has on the Legion to find you and kill you. No wonder their was a time barrier, no wonder we were found so quickly by the para-demons when we got to Metropolis.” It was all adding up. “Brainiac 5 is being used by Darkseid to find us. To stop us. We have to rescue him.”

“Querl!”

“What is it,” I snapped, turning towards Laurel. She pointed towards the pillar and when I turned I paused. Oh god, I had rotted the pillar nearly in half. Somehow, some way through my anger I had tapped into the Time Trapper power and had aged the pillar to rust in the area all around my hand. When I pulled my hand away, the part of the pillar I had been touching crumbled into dust. I stared at my hand. I took a few steps away from everyone, hands going up. Play it off as no big deal.

“We have to get to New Metropolis and find information,” I said, trying to distract. It seemed to work for the most part as everyone but Laurel had turned their attention away from the pillar to me. Is there any way to get in without being detected?”

“We were going to rescue some prisoners tomorrow,” Imra said, nodding. “We’ll gather a group tomorrow and you’ll be in the squad. Kara,” she turned towards Supergirl who looked torn between emotions, “come with me. We need to talk about Querl.”

“Yes. I want to know everything.”

“For now, get some rest. We’ll gather at 0800 tomorrow.”

I left the room as soon as everyone had finished talking, moving down the hallway away from the sounds of people and from the pillar. I heard footsteps behind me. Laurel was following me I know, calling for me but I didn’t pay her any attention. I had rusted a pillar in half. What if I had been holding her hand or touching Kara? Or even standing close to Rokk, Imra or Garth? Either of them. I froze and gripped both sides of my head in a attempt to stop myself from over thinking it but I was terrified.

“Querl!”

Laurel went to touch me but I dunked away, moving a couple of steps away from her. “No don’t! I’m not safe. I-” I lowered my eyes, hands falling to my sides. “Its starting.”

Laurel didn’t move, still looking like she wanted to reach for me. Her blue eyes flickered across my face. “What’s starting.”

“The mortal body isn’t meant to keep the Time Trapper power contained. Its starting to leak out. I am not safe.”

Laurel looked frustrated and before I had a chance to dunk away she pulled me close to her, wrapping her arms around me. I went completely still, not even daring to breath afraid of what would happen if I did. She rested her forehead against mine, sighing slightly. “We are going to fix this, alright? The Time Trapper isn’t going to separate us again.”

I wished I shared her confidence. I closed my eyes, and heard it again.

_tick tock._

**Author's Note:**

> This chapter was hell to get out. Setting the stage. Next chapter we connect the two Legions.


End file.
